BREAKOUT SESSIONS

BECOMING YOUR OWN MEDIA CHANNEL

Melinda EddlemanAssociate Director of
Media RelationsDel Mar College

Daniel RamirezDirector of Public Relations
and MarketingSouth Texas College

Tom GubbinsSales Director for
North AmericaPressPage

It isn’t that the media world is shrinking… it has already shrunk. However the need for content has only increased with the tidal wave that is social media. Since the number of media outlets and working journalists have shrunk, it’s harder than ever before to get your news out there. In this session, former newspaper reporter turned online newsroom enthusiast Tom Gubbins with PressPage will share best practices and tips for becoming your own news outlet. Tom will look at ways to tell your school’s story in a manner that not only drives traffic to your website and social channels, but does so in a way that makes you an even more valuable asset to your local media partners.

CRISIS COMMUNICATION PANEL

Amanda FenwickVice President,
Marketing and Public RelationsSan Jacinto College

Jessica VessAssociate Director of
CommunicationsAustin Community College

Hurricane Harvey was one of the most devastating storms to hit the Texas Gulf Coast. Hear how San Jacinto College communicated with their entire student population, faculty and staff, and community before, during and after such an event including successes and challenges the College faced.

In spring 2018, the City of Austin was faced a serial bomber. Learn how Austin Community College used strategic methods to keep the college community aware during a community wide crisis, responding to media requests for expert insight, and managing local, state, national, and international media following the identification of the bomber as a former student.

EMAIL MARKETING BEST PRACTICES

Eddie MiddlebrookSenior Digital Editor/WriterDallas County Community
College District

In this session we will go over the continued importance of email marketing in 2018, and discuss best practices for sending emails to employees, students and the community. We will also go over common mistakes, and how to train your colleagues to use an email marketing platform.

Based on research conducted with a prospective community college audience in the Spring of 2018, their number one concern is college debt. In this session, we'll talk about recent focus groups and research findings that highlight the importance of educating community college marketers on the types of messaging students need to see in order to feel confident in their decision to attend your institution.

GET THE TEAM YOU WANT WITH THE STAFF YOU HAVE

Lana Pigao Director, Communication
Services
Houston Community College

Many times we inherit our staff when we join an organization. As leaders we need to do with who we have. Staff development, a clear vision, stated expectations, and job ownership go a long way to build the marketing and communications team you want, and need, to be a successful department.

HOW TO BUILD CAMPAIGNS THAT SELL THEMSELVES, EVEN TO THE TOUGHEST CRITICS

Cheryl Broom President
Interact Communications

Everyone has an opinion when it comes to marketing. From faculty and administration to board members, they all have advice on how to use your precious marketing dollars. At the end of the day, however, responsibility for the results of your marketing campaigns falls on your shoulders and the decisions you make. When the time comes to defend your marketing plan, you need to be prepared to explain the “why” behind the buy. This presentation will walk you through actual campaigns and strategies that are based off data, the latest marketing trends, and persuasive theory. Learn the “why” behind these campaigns and how you can sell a strategic approach, even to those on your campus who think they know marketing better than you do.

HOW TO MAKE YOUR PRINT MARKETING POP AND PAPER SCHOOL

Trey LavertyDirector of Sales
DevelopmentSlate Group

Lorenzo Salazar
Account Executive
Slate Group

Join Slate Group for an interactive and educational printing experience. Whether you’re new to the world of printing, looking for some inspiration, or just new to marketing, we’ll guide you through the creative side of print. We want to empower you as a decision-maker just as much as we want to inspire you with new ideas, paper choices, and ideal techniques that will make your marketing POP and help you better connect with your audience. Be prepared to be inspired.

MOBILE, DIGITAL, AND BEYOND - WHAT'S NEW AND WHAT'S NEXT IN ONLINE MARKETING FOR COMMUNITY COLLEGES

Kristina SaarMarketing and Advertising CoordinatorEastfield College, Dallas County
Community College District

Dr. Kathi SwansonPresidentCLARUS Corporation

Rob PriceDigital Manager
CLARUS Corporation

The digital marketing landscape continues to change, and new tools, techniques and opportunities are evolving every day…and can help you in targeting potential students! Learn from a successful Texas college marketer and a national expert on digital and mobile.

• How to effectively budget for a digital and mobile campaign…formulas and guidelines for community college marketers

• New trends and developments in the world of digital marketing that will affect YOU, and how to be ready

PRE-CONFERENCE WORKSHOP: HOW TO GRADUATE TO THE NEXT LEVEL WITH SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING

Bethany SmithSenior Director of Client
Services & StrategyWpromote

If you’ve passed Social Media 101 and can tell your likes from your retweets, but you’re still wondering how to drive an impact with your social media or what’s next, this workshop is for you. In this session we will explore:

RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT: ARE WE IN THAT BUSINESS?

Elizabeth GarzaRelationship Management
CoordinatorVictoria College

Dan KazmirDirector of Marketing
& CommunicationsVictoria College

Your ability to recruit and retain students is only as good as the relationships you build with them. Victoria College has developed successful relationship management strategies that involve sending automated, personalized emails and text messages to students at pivotal points along their educational journey. The presenters will share tips for effective relationship management, discuss CRM system implementation, and highlight communication plans, best practices, results, and lessons learned.

ROADMAP TO ACCESSIBILITY

Jennifer Aries President25th Hour Communications, Inc

Elizabeth PackWeb Technologies25th Hour Communications, Inc

Are you struggling to understand web accessibility? Why is ADA/Section 508 compliance so important? Where do you - as marketing professionals - fit into the web accessibility scheme? This informational presentation will help you understand the roadmap to accessibility, whatever your current location to your ultimate destination. We'll cover what compliance is, why it's important to marketing your institution and how to achieve and maintain accessibility.

SMASHING STUDENT STEREOTYPES

Learn all the details on how Women in Industry and Men in Healthcare became successful recruiting events for non-traditional students at Victoria College. We will explain the ins and outs of coordinating/marketing the events using Perkins funds and will share student testimonials.

SO YOU WANT TO LAUNCH A MOBILE APP

Jahmal Clemons San Jacinto College

During the 2017-2018 school year, San Jacinto College launched a mobile app to help address student complaints that we were communicating with them too much via email. I will go over challenges, successes, and takeaways we discovered trying to balance our student's desires with the institution's goals.

WHAT EVERY MARKETER NEEDS TO KNOW ABOUT CREATING BRAND CHAMPIONS

Janet Cowey

Director of Marketing

San Jacinto College

Salem Al-AyyadhiGraphic DesignerSan Jacinto College

How often does your campus community go off-brand? As marketers, we know our brand, but our college employees don’t always know how to fully support it. If this sounds familiar, then join us and gain insights on how to create an authentic, dynamic brand ambassador program. You’ll learn step-by-step how to empower employees to keep your college’s brand cohesiveness intact. We'll share lessons learned and provide the tools needed to develop your program.

Jonathan Blundell Manager, Rich MediaDallas County Community
College District

Dallas County Community College District and Del Mar College recently underwent a website redesign and launched a brand new web platform. In this session you’ll hear an overview of the project and walk away with a list of do’s and don’ts when you’re planning your next web redesign.

WRANGLING YOUR MARKETING HERD

Jennifer NormanAssociate Director of
Marketing & CommunicationsMcLennan Community College

Harrison BrennanAccount ExecutiveWorkzone

As you manage tens or hundreds of projects from all across your campus community, prioritizing and tracking them all can be challenging. See how Workzone, a project management software, has helped one community college team wrangle their herd to be more productive and efficient.

WRITING TIPS FOR NON-WRITERS

Montrose Cunningham

Coordinator of
Community Outreach

Houston Community College

With shrinking budgets and marketing departments, staff members have to wear many hats. As a result, staff members who may have little or no writing experience are called upon to write press releases, media alerts, public service announcements, and social media posts. Here are some very basic tips and guidelines, for people who aren’t writers, who may end up becoming the writer in their department.

YOU ARE NOT YOUR USER

Luis Merino

Rich Media Developer/
Producer

Dallas County Community
College District

Usability Testing allows designers and webmasters not only to observe how users engage websites, but also understand their thought patterns and needs. This feedback gives focused direction on how to make websites easier to use and it doesn’t have to cost a dime. In this session you will learn why testing is important, how to prepare and conduct testing sessions and how to use test results to inform crucial website design and content decisions – all without a budget.